Brokered convention
A brokered convention is a political scenario that occurs in the United States when no candidate secures a majority of delegate votes during the first ballot at a party's national convention, preventing them from attaining the party nomination. Delegates, who represent their states, initially vote according to the outcomes of their state’s primaries or caucuses. If no candidate receives the required majority on the first ballot, delegates may switch their votes on subsequent ballots, potentially leading to the selection of a compromise candidate. Historically, brokered conventions were more common prior to the establishment of the primary system in the early 20th century, as party politicians wielded greater influence over candidate selection.
While both brokered and contested conventions are related, they are distinct; a contested convention occurs when multiple candidates compete for delegates but does not involve extensive negotiations for a compromise candidate. The most notable examples of brokered conventions include the 1924 Democratic National Convention and the last brokered conventions for the Republicans in 1948 and Democrats in 1952. In modern times, both major parties actively seek to avoid brokered conventions due to concerns about their impact on electoral trust and the nomination process.
Brokered convention
In the United States, a brokered convention occurs when no candidate reaches a majority of the delegates to attain the party nomination on the first vote at their national conventions. Delegates represent their respective states at the convention and must vote according to their state’s primary or caucus results for the first ballot; if no candidate gains enough delegate votes on the first ballot, the delegates can then vote for whomever they favor on subsequent ballots. A brokered convention can also happen at the state level but is most famous for happening during presidential elections.
Brokered conventions were not uncommon before the advent of presidential primaries and have happened at many points in US history. In fact, from 1832 until 1936, the Democratic Party required a candidate to have won two-thirds of the delegates to win the presidency. By contrast, the Republican Party only required a simple majority. This caused conflict in the US presidential election process, and during this time, brokered conventions were much more common than later in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Brief History
Both brokered and contested conventions have occurred throughout the history of American voting. However, there has not been a true brokered convention since 1948 for Republicans and 1952 for Democrats. The "brokering" of the convention refers to power brokers who work behind the scenes to find a compromise candidate who would appeal to the largest number of voters in a presidential election.
While both "brokered convention" and "contested convention" are often meant to mean the same thing, they are, in fact, not synonymous. This was most evident in the 1976 elections, more specifically at the Republican convention between then-President Gerald Ford and his opponent, Ronald Reagan. Both men failed to achieve a majority of delegates before the Republican National Convention, but Ford secured a majority of the delegates shortly before the first ballot. This made the convention contested, and not "brokered," as the presidential candidate was still chosen through the first floor vote.
The most infamous Democratic brokered convention occurred after the 1924 Democratic primary election, and was also known as the "Klanbake" due to the influence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan supported William Gibbs McAdoo Jr., the former secretary of the treasury under President Woodrow Wilson. The Klan was influential in politics at the time, and McAdoo did not renounce the endorsement. His major challenger was New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, who opposed racial violence and the prohibition of alcohol. However, neither candidate was able to get a two-thirds majority, and after a record 103 ballots, John W. Davis, a compromise candidate, was chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate. However, Davis lost the 1924 presidential election by a huge margin to President Calvin Coolidge, taking 28.8 percent of the vote. This was the worst margin ever for any Democratic presidential nominee.
Since the first Republican National Convention in 1856, there have been ten contested conventions, of which, seven ended up being brokered with a different candidate winning the nomination. Six of those candidates went on to win the general election: Dwight Eisenhower (1952), Warren Harding (1920), Benjamin Harrison (1888), James Garfield (1880), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), and most famously, Abraham Lincoln (1860). Meanwhile, there have been fifteen multiballot Democratic conventions, with six of those candidates winning the general election: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1932), Woodrow Wilson (1912), Grover Cleveland (1884), James Buchanan (1856), Franklin Pierce (1852), and James K. Polk (1844).
Brokered Conventions Today
In the past, brokered conventions happened more frequently because parties were less nationalized and nominees tended to be selected by party politicians, rather than direct votes, until the primary and caucus system was devised in the early twentieth century. Even after primaries were instituted, it was many decades before delegates were bound to vote in accordance with primary outcomes. Thus, power brokers had more influence at conventions.
The last brokered convention for the Republicans occurred in 1948, when New York Governor Thomas Dewey ran against Ohio Senator Robert Taft and Harold Stassen, the former governor of Minnesota. However, Dewey got the nomination on the third ballot, although he lost the general election to President Harry Truman.
A similar situation occurred at the Democratic National Convention of 1952. Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, Truman’s chosen successor for the presidency, was deadlocked with Senators Estes Kefauver of Tennessee and Richard B. Russell Jr. of Georgia. During the second and third ballots, Truman and party officials convinced delegates to switch their votes to Stevenson, who lost the general election to General Dwight Eisenhower.
During the 2016 presidential election, there was talk of a contested convention happening in the Republican Party between real estate mogul Donald Trump, Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, and Ohio Governor John Kasich. However, in May 2016, Trump secured the majority of delegates necessary to win the Republican presidential nomination, and talk of a brokered or contested convention ended. Similarly, pundits believed there might be a contested Democratic convention that year between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders; however, Clinton secured the delegates needed for the nomination in June ahead of the convention in July. In 2024, talks of a brokered convention surfaced ahead of the Democratic convention following President Biden's April 2023 announcement that he would be seeking reelection in 2024. However, in July 2024, President Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Both the Democratic and Republican Parties actively attempt to avoid brokered conventions, as it is more difficult for their nominee to win office, and the election process has become much more publicized. While contested conventions still do occasionally occur, it is unlikely that either party would want to risk a brokered convention in the future because many party officials believe that it will erode the trust in the primary presidential election process.
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